A new history of ecclesiastical writers containing an account of the authors of the several books of the Old and New Testament, of the lives and writings of the primitive fathers, an abridgement and catalogue of their works ... also a compendious history of the councils, with chronological tables of the whole / written in French by Lewis Ellies du Pin.

PART II.

Some Observations upon the Method. An Account of the Design of the Work. Rules of Criticism laid down.

IT being not sufficient barely to represent the general Design of this Work, as I have done in the First Part of the Preface, I found my self obliged to give some short Account of the Method I used in the Management of it. I usually begin with the Life of every Author, which I relate as succinctly, and in as few Words as possibly I can. For there being two ways of Writing the Life of any Person; one by taking in the Moral; the other by comprehending the Historical Part: I have applied my self wholly to the last, as being the most agreeable to my Design. In the first, I set down all the Actions of those Men, whose Lives I write, and then enlarge upon their Vertues; and make several Reflections upon their Behaviour and Conduct: In the Second, I only take notice of the principal Circumstances of their Life, passing over those Actions that are purely personal, and that have no Relation to the History of their Times, contenting my self with delivering Matters of Fact without a large Examination, whether they were well done or not. After this Manner, I have endeavoured to write the Life of those Authors of whom I have Occasion to speak, chiefly taking notice of those Circumstances that concern their Writings, and may serve either to illustrate them, or to make the Or∣der, Subject, and Occasion of them known. For nothing is of more Use to make us un∣derstand the meaning of any Author, than the knowing when, and with what Temper he wrote, what Hereticks he opposed, what Opinion he designed to establish; and lastly, what Condition he was in at that Time. A Bishop, for Example, writes otherwise than a Lay-Man, an African otherwise than an Asiatick, and a Man under Persecution, talks in a different manner from one that is at ease. An Author that attacks the Heresie of his own Time, and besides, has personal Contests with his Adversaries, expresses him∣self in another strain, than a Man that writes against an Heresie that is extinct, and who has no other share in the Quarrel, or no other Motive of Writing than to defend the Truth: In a word, we speak and we write generally according to the different Motions and Passions, with which we are agitated; the Objects that most forcibly strike us, re∣present themselves in a lively manner to our Imaginations, and by that means determine our Tongues and Pens to that side. After Tertulian was provoked against the Church, he never wrote one single Book, wherein he does not fall upon it, and bring in the Paraclete of Montanus. St. Cyprian making it his Business to support his own Authority and the Disci∣pline of the Church against those that attacked both, speaks always of the Unity of the Church, and of Publick Pennance. Origen, who was full of the Platonick Philosophy, considers all the Principles of Christianity as they have a Relation to Plato's Doctrine.

St. Athanasius, a sworn Enemy of the Arians, never took Pen in hand, but he fell upon them. St. Austin having the Donatists and Pelagians always in View in all his Writings, and even in his Homilies, talks perpetually of the Church and of Grace. 'Tis the same with all the rest, and if we examine the Matter narrowly, we shall find that all Men are, made after the same sort, and agree as to this particular. We commonly know by a Man's Discourse what Books he reads, what Sciences he studies, what Religion he is of, what Profession he follows, whether his Circumstances in the World are happy or not, and whether he is well or ill received by great Men; so difficult a Matter is it to conceal our own Opinions, when they have once made a deep Impression within! We offer a Violence to our selves when we attempt to conceal them for any time, and sooner or later they escape from us, notwithstanding all our Endeavours to the contrary. And this shows what a considerable Advantage it is to us towards the better Understanding of any Au∣thor, to be perfectly instructed in the History of his Life, and to know what Country he was of, in what Times he lived, what was his Profession, his Genius and Inclination, what Hereticks he opposed, and what Interests he had to manage.

This very same Reason likewise makes us sensible, that it is not sufficient to know in gene∣ral the Age wherein any Author wrote; but that we must also, if it is possible, find out the exact Time and Year in which he wrote every Treatise, and so observe the Order and Series of his Works; for besides, that a Man writes otherwise when he is Young, than when he is well in Years; it is a certain Truth, that the several Changes, that happen every day in the Course of worldly Affairs, and to every Person in particular, often make Men alter their Stile. Tertullian, when he was engaged in the Sect of the Montanists, op∣poses what he had formerly established. St. Cyprian speaks of the Reconciliation of Peni∣tents, according to the different Circumstances of the Times he lived in; St. Austin, when he writes against the Pelagians, speaks otherwise of God's Grace and of Free-Will, than he used to do before. St. Athanasius when he was under Persecution, wrote more violently than when he enjoy'd Tranquility. In a word, since nothing is so changeable as the Mind of Man, and since every Accident, that influences it, is under continual Motion, it must necessarily follow, that an Author will write differently in different Times. It is therefore of infinite Use to observe, as we have done, the Chronology of any Writer's Works, if we can discover it either by Reasoning, or by Conjecture; and this was more easily done in Polemical Discourses, than Treatises of Morality. The Characters, that help us to know the Time and Order of their Works, are, 1. The Years of the Emperors, the Names of Consuls; or lastly, the Years when any particular Epocha's begin, as we find them any where set down. 2. The Names of Persons that are mentioned there. 3. The Citations of the Works of other Authors, or of the Author himself. 4. Conjectures drawn from the Stile, the Matters that are treated of, and the manner wherein they are delivered. I do not explain these Characters, because they are so easie to be understood, and because they may be so often discovered by an infinite Number of Examples in the Book it self.

A Catalogue of the Works of these Authors was absolutely necessary: Sometimes I made it separately, and sometimes, as I had occasion to discourse of them in a Chronolo∣gical Order. This Catalogue as well comprehends the Books that we have at present, as those that are lost, whose Titles have been preserved by the Ancients: but this has not been observed in the ordinary Catalogues, where they content themselves with setting down those Books only that are to be found in the Editions we now have. I have not suf∣fered even those Authors to escape me, of whom we have not any entire Discourse re∣maining. I have made a Catalogue of their Treatises, where I cou'd be fully informed of them by any of the Ancients, and I have taken Care to preserve the Fragments of some Writers that are still remaining, and to acquaint the Reader in what Authors and in what Places they are to be found. I have referred what I have to say of the Rules of Criticism to the End of the Preface, where I shall examine them more particularly.

One would imagine that a Summary or Abridgment of these Books would prove a long Work, and swell the Volume to a mighty great Bulk; yet I have reduced it into very narrow Bounds, and have suffered nothing that was of considerable Moment, to escape me. I have contrived to make it as little troublesom and tedious as was possible, by not always confining my self to the Formality of an exact Method, and without making a scrupulous Analysis of their Propositions and Reasonings.

I contented my self with delivering the Arguments of their Books in a few Words. When I met with any considerable things either for Doctrine, Morality, or Discipline, I carefully took notice of them, and I have also drawn out of several Books those Passa∣ges

that appeared to be the most Beautiful, and those Thoughts that were the most Sub∣lime: For the end which I always proposed to my self, was to give a true Character of the Author I treated of, and to omit nothing that was remarkable, and yet for the Rea∣der's Ease, I have done it as short as I could.

After this Abridgment of their Work, I generally give my Judgment of the Stile, and Genius, and Learning of the Author. I don't in the least question but that several Per∣sons will be offended at the Liberty I have taken, and that even those who approve my Design in the main, will be of a different Opinion from me; for the Judgments of Man∣kind are so vastly divided in nothing as in the Censures they pass upon other Men. Every Man thinks he has sufficient Authority in himself to judge another, and indeed every Man judges after his own Way, led by his own Fancy or Humour, without any certain or steddy Rules.

Hence it follows, that it is almost impossible to find two Persons that agree in their Opinions of a Third Person, and indeed this Reflection made me at first alter my design of drawing up the Characters of my Authors, foreseeing plainly, that I should hereby draw upon my self a great number of Adversaries. For though the Persons of whom I speak, have been long since dead, yet they have abundance either of Admirers, or Censurers, that will appear either for, or against them; so that whether I commend or blame them, it's all one, and I must expect to be censured and ill thought of. But afterwards, when I considered with my self, that since all the World give themselves the Liberty to judge the Ancients upon all occasions, just as they please, I thought that no Man ought to condemn me for doing the same, after I had carefully read them over, and particularly in a Book where the Subject and Design seemed to require it; I resolved to do it however with Moderation, and yet with a convenient Freedom. I don't pretend to oblige any Man to follow my Judgment; neither do I flatter my self that I have always found out their true Characters; I only desire my Reader not to condemn me inconsiderately, or upon the Faith of another, without having so much as read or studied these Authors; and I likewise conjure him to rest satisfied, that in passing my Censures, I have used all imaginable Exactness and Applica∣tion, knowing that a Man cannot be too circumspect when he offers to judge others, and especially those Persons that have left so great a Reputation behind them in the World, and to whom we owe so much Respect.

I conclude with a Catalogue of the several Editions of those Books, which I have ex∣amined with the utmost Care and Diligence. I am not certain that I have set down all, yet I am satisfied that I have mentioned the best, and given my Judgment of each in par∣ticular. So that any Man may see at first sight, which Edition is most used, and ought to be most valued.

At the End of these Three first Centuries, I have made an Abridgment of the Do∣ctrine, Discipline, and Morality of those Times, that whatever is to be learnt in the Authors of those Ages, may be seen at one View. This Summary I have composed as faithfully and in as short a compass as I cou'd; however I don't pretend to have taken notice of every thing that is to be found in the Authors of the Three first Ages upon these Subjects, since I only designed to set down the Principal Points, that I might give my Reader a small Idea of them.

Lastly, There are several Tables at the end of each Volume, which will not be wholly useless. The first contains a Catalogue of the Authors, in a Chronological Order, where one may see the time of their Birth, and Death, and that wherein they flourished. The Second contains a Catalogue of the same Authors, in an Alphabetical Order. The Third, is a Catalogue of their Works: The Genuine, the Spurious, and those that are lost. The Fourth, is a Catalogue of their Works, according to the Matters contained in them. And the last, is an ordinary Table of the things contained in the Body of the Book.

I have only now to acquaint my Reader, that at the end of each Author, I have added some Annotations, that are merely Critical, to make my Book as plain and easie as was possible. In these Notes you will find some Illustrations and Proofs of the things that I asserted in the Text. I was not willing to reserve them till the end of the Volume, because generally most Men do not look so far, and so never mind them; nor to charge the Margin with them; because they were too long to be placed there, and consequently wou'd have interrupted the Series of the Discourse. But I have placed them at the end of each Author, where it is an easie Matter to consult them by observing the several Let∣ters that will conduct the Reader, and yet not detain him too long from the Text. Those that are but indifferently skilled in these Matters, may, if they please, pass over these

Notes; but I would desire those that have a Mind to examine carefully what I have writ∣ten, to read them along with the Text, because I have often barely asserted several things in the Text, that are justified and proved by these Notes.

I shall leave the Reader to judge, whether this Book may be of any Advantage to the Publick, or no; but I think I ought to acquaint him, that the principal End I proposed to my self, was to excite those that shall peruse it, to read the Works of the Holy Fathers; and that whoever imagines himself dispensed with from consulting the Originals by reading my Book, does manifestly pervert and abuse the Design of it. I published it with an Inten∣tion to give them a Taste, and not to make them lose their Appetite for the Fathers; and the Abridgment I have made of their Works, was only designed to inflame those that love these things, to go and refresh themselves at the Fountain head. This Work may easily inspire Men with a Desire of reading the Fathers, since it gives them before-hand a general Idea of their Doctrine and Maxims; but here is not enough to save them the Labour of reading the Originals: And let a Work of this Nature be never so well written, yet we ought to read these things in their Originals, where only they are to be found in their Purity, and Natural Beauty. This I thought necessary to premise, before I set down the Necessity and the Rules of true Criticism, and the great Importance of them, which I am now going to explain.

Criticism is a kind of a Torch, that lights and conducts us in the obscure Tracks of An∣tiquity, by making us able to distinguish Truth from Falshood, History from Fable, and Antiquity from Novelty. 'Tis by this Means, that in our Times we have dis-engaged our selves from an infinite Number of very common Errours, into which our Fathers fell for want of examining Things by the Rules of true Criticism. For 'tis a surprizing thing to consider how many spurious Books we find in Antiquity; nay, even in the first Ages of the Church. Several Reasons induced Men to impose Books upon the World, under other Men's Names. The first, and most general, is, the Malice of Hereticks; who, to give the greater Reputation to their Heresies, composed several Books, which they attributed to Persons of great Reputation; in which they studiously spread their own Errours, that so they might find a better Reception, under the Protection of these celebrated Names. And thus the first Hereticks devised false Gospels, false Acts, and false Epistles of the Apo∣stles, and their Disciples: And thus those that came after them published several spurious Books, as if they had been written by Orthodox Authors, that so they might insensi∣bly convey their Errours into the Minds of their Readers, without their perceiving the Cheat.

The Second Reason that inclined People to forge Books under other Men's Names, is di∣rectly contrary to the First; being occasioned by the indiscreet Piety of some Persons, who thought they did the Church considerable Service, in forging Ecclesiastical or Profane Monuments in favour of Religion and the Truth. And this Reason prevailed with some ancient Christians, to forge some Testimonies in behalf of the Christian Religion, under the Name of the Sibyls, Mercurius Trismegistus, and divers others; and likewise induced the Catholicks to compose some Books, that they might refute the Hereticks of their own Times with the greater Ease. And Lastly, The same Motive carried the Catholicks so far, as to invent false Histories, false Miracles, and false Lives of the Saints, to nourish and keep up the Piety of the Faithful. Now, though the Design of these Persons seems to be commendable, yet we ought not, by any Means, to approve of the making use of these sorts of Artifices to defend the Truth; which is well enough supported by real Proofs, without the necessity of inventing any false ones. It would be a Shame to call Lying and Falshood to its Assistance, and we must never use such sort of Methods, which Truth and Sincerity will always condemn, whatever good Effects they may pretend to have.

The Third Reason of the Forgery of some Books, keeps a middle Way between those we have already mentioned; for there have been some Persons in the World, that have been guilty of this Imposture, without any other Design, than to divert themselves at the Expence of their Readers, and to try how nearly they could imitate the Stile of other Men. Hence it is, that some Authors have composed Treatises under St. Cyprian's, St Am∣brose's, and St. Austin's Names. But it must be confessed, that this Reason has not been near so common as the other two, and that it very rarely prevailed, especially in the Pri∣mitive Times. Only in these latter Ages there have been some, who having Vanity enough to over-value their own Productions, have published them under the Name of ancient cele∣brated Authors; desiring rather (as the Abbot of Billi says) to appear abroad, and be estee∣med under other Men's Names, than to continue despised, and be buried in Darkness, by

writing in their own. And these are the Reasons that may have occasioned the Forgery of Books; Malice, Indiscreet Piety, and the Humours of Men.

But besides these Reasons that have advanced this Trade of Forgery, there are several others that have occasioned the setting Authors Names to several Books, which they never writ. The first, and the most general, is, the Fault of the Transcribers, or Printers, who have frequently set wrong Names in the Title-Pages of their Books. And this has happened several Ways; for either they did it to raise the Price of the Copy, or, because they found these Tracts at the End of some other Author, they therefore concluded too rashly that they were done by the same Hand; or through Ignorance and Negligence; or lastly, some not being able to find out the Name of the true Authors, upon the strength of a few feeble Conjectures, have supposed they had good Reason on their side to change it.

From hence therefore, one Book has often carried the Name of several Authors in Ma∣nuscript, and this has principally happen'd to Sermons; either because the Transcribers found it their Interest to publish them under the Names of Great Men, to make them more vendible; or because these Sermons, though of different Authors, by being often inserted in∣to the Office of the Church, and divided into Lessons, were so interwoven and confounded one with another, that it was a difficult matter to distinguish them.

A second Reason of the giving to some Books the Name of wrong Authors, is, because sometimes Men have written Books by way of Dialogue, or otherwise, to which, in imita∣tion of Tully, they have given the Names of those Persons whom they have introduced there as Speakers. After this manner Vigilius Thapsensis made five Books under the Name of St. Athanasius; and perhaps too under the same Name he composed the Creed that is attri∣buted to that Father: Whence it happened, that those that looked upon the Titles of these Books, attributed them to St. Athanasius, without examining the Reasons why they carried his Name: As if we should attribute Tully's Books to Laelius, Brutus, or Cato.

Lastly, The Ambiguity of Titles, and the Resemblance of Names, have often contribu∣ted to the ascribing of Books to those to whom they did not belong. Two Authors were of the same Name, though perhaps they differed in every Circumstance beside; and this has given Occasion to several unwary or ignorant Readers, to attribute their Books to the wrong Persons. This has frequently happened; and, to give one remarkable Instance of it, the Resemblance of the Names of Sixtus the Philosopher, and Sixtus the Pope, caused the Sentences that were written by the former to be attributed to the latter.

Having thus discovered the Reasons why we find so many Books attributed to Authors who have no just Title to them, we ought to establish the Rules of true Criticism. 'Tis equally dangerous to be ignorant of them, as to take them the wrong Way, and mis-ap∣ply them; for if we do not know them, we may be easily imposed upon by false Monu∣ments; and if we do not understand them aright, or if we abuse them by allowing our selves too great a Liberty, we may very often reject the Truth it self. This last Abuse has been frequent with many Criticks of our Time, and particularly Protestants, who, upon very slight superficial Conjectures, have rejected several Books that are unquestionably an∣cient and genuine, because they contradict their Doctrine or Discipline. Wherefore we may, in the first place, set this down for a general Rule in these Matters, that we ought always to act fairly, and upon the Square; and that we must lay aside our Passions, or our Interests, and hearken only to our Reason, when we pass our Judgment upon Suppositi∣tious or Genuine Books. 'Tis very ill done to conclude that such a Book is spurious be∣cause it pinches us, and afterwards to search for Reasons why it may be thought so. We ought, on the contrary, when a Book does not please us, to use more than usual Circum∣spection to examine the Reasons that make us call it into question; since it is to be feared, that unless we take due Care, the Prejudices we have formed against it may cast a Mist be∣fore our Eyes, and make us mistake frivolous Conjectures for solid Reasons. We shall now examine the Proofs and Conjectures that a Man may have of a Book's being spurious, one by one, as they lie: They are either External, or Internal; and both one and the other may be convincing or probable.

The Internal Proofs are those that are drawn out of the Books themselves, which we apparently demonstrate to be supposititious, either by the Time there set down, or by some other Sign, or by the Opinions that are there maintained, or by the Stile wherein it is written. Time is one of the most certain Proofs; for nothing more evidently shews that a Book cannot belong to that Time wherein it is pretended to have been written, than when we find in it some Marks of a later Date. These Marks, in the first place, are, False Dates;

for 'tis an ordinary thing for Impostors, that are generally ignorant, to date a Book after the Death of the Author to whom they ascribe it, or of the Person to whom it is dedica∣ted, or written; and even when they do fix the Time right, yet they often mistake in the Names of the Consuls, or in some other Circumstances: All which are invincible Proofs, that he that dated this Book did not li••e at that time. Secondly, Impostors very often speak of Men that lived long after the Death of those Persons to whom they attribute those spurious Discourses, or they relate the History of some Passages that happened afterwards, or they speak of Cities and People that were unknown at the time, when those Authors wrote; or lastly, they cite Authors that wrote and lived after those whom they make to mention them.

The Opinions or Things contained in a Book, do likewise discover the Forgery of it: 1. When we find some Opinions there, that were not maintained till a long time after the Author, whose Name it bears. 2. When we find some Terms made use of, to explain these Doctrines, which were not customary till after his Death. 3. When the Author opposes Errou••s, as extant in his own Time, that did not spring up till afterwards. 4. When he describes Ceremonies, Rites and Customs, that were not in use in his Time. 5. When we find some Opinions in these Spurious Discourses, that are contrary to those that are to be found in other Books, which unquestionably belong to that Author. 6. When he treats of Matters that were never spoken of in the Time when the real Author was alive. 7. When he relates Histories that are manifestly fabulous.

In short, Stile is a sort of Touch-stone, that discovers the Truth or Falshood of Books; because it is impossible to imitate the Stile of any Author so perfectly, as that there will not be a great deal of difference. By the Stile, we are not only to understand the bare Words and Terms, which are easily imitated; but also the Turn of the Discourse, the manner of Writing, the Elocution, the Figures, and the Method: All which Particulars, it is a difficult matter so to counterfeit, as to prevent a Discovery. There are, for in∣stance, certain Authors, whose Stile is easily known, and which it is impossible to imitate: We ought not however always to reject a Book upon a slight difference of Stile, without any other Proofs; because it often happens, that Authors write differently, in different Times: N••ither ought we immediately to receive a Book as Genuine, upon the bare Re∣semblance of Stile, when there are other Proofs of its being spurious; because it may so happen, that an ingenious Man may sometimes counterfeit the Stile of an Author, espe∣cially in Discourses which are not very long: But the Difference and Resemblance of Stile may be so remarkable sometimes, as to be a convincing Proof, either of Truth or Falshood.

The External Proofs are, in the first place, taken from ancient Manuscripts; in which, either we do not find the Name of an Author, or else we find that of another: The more ancient or correct they are, the more we ought to value them. Secondly, From the Te∣stimony or Silence of ancient Authors; from their Testimony, I say, when they formally reject a Writing as Spurious, or when they attribute it to some other Author; or from their Silence, when they do not speak of it, though they have occasion to mention it: This Argument, which is commonly called a Negative one, is oftentimes of very great weight. When, for Example, we find, that several entire Books which are attributed to one of the Ancients, are unknown to all Antiquity: When all those Persons that have spo∣ken of the Works of an Author, and besides, have made Catalogues of them, never men∣tion such a particular Discourse: When a Book that would have been serviceable to the Catholicks, has never been cited by them, who both might, and ought to have cited it, as having a fair Occasion to do it, 'tis extreamly probable that it is supposititious. It is very certain, that this is enough to make any Book doubtful, if it was never cited by any of the Ancients; and in that Case, it must have very authentick Characters of Antiqui∣ty, before it ought to be received without Contradiction. And on the other hand, if there should be never so few Conjectures of its not being Genuine, yet these, together with the Silence of the Ancients, will be sufficient to oblige us to believe it to be a Forgery.

These are the Rules of Criticism, by which we distinguish False and Spurious Works from those that are Genuine. As I said before, some of these Rules are convincing, and some are only probable; the Internal Proofs are generally more certain than the External; and amongst these, the positive Testimony of Authors is the most presumptive and strong. But it may be said, that all of them are sometimes more, and sometimes less convincing and probable; and that the Sovereign Rule is, the Judgment of Equity and Prudence;

according to which we ought to balance the Reasons of one Side and the other, and consi∣der all the Conjectures that can be brought for or against it. For it often happens, that although every Conjecture, considered apart, does not seem to bear any considerable weight, yet when they are all joined together, they make the thing almost morally certain. I have brought no Examples to explain all these Rules that I have set down; for, besides that they are sufficiently clear and intelligible of themselves, it is impossible to read in any Pages of my Book, without finding them applied upon all Occasions.

Before I conclude my Preface, I am obliged to make some kind of Answer to those who have been pleased to declare, that they should have been better satisfied if I had wrote my Book in Latin. Some Persons have been of that Mind, because they have a greater Value for Latin, since it has lasted longer, and is more currant in Foreign Countries: Others take it ill that I have published those things in French, which, as they pretend, ought only to be understood by Divines. These Men have told me, That they could not endure to see Wo∣men and ignorant People learn the most curious Parts of Divinity: And that it might prove of dangerous Consequence to instruct them throughly in the Doctrine of the Fathers.

As for the First, I shall take care to satisfie them, by translating my Book into Latin some time or other, if the Publick shall think it worth being preserved.

For the Others; As their Complaint is unreasonable, so I never saw any good Reasons to hinder my publishing it in French: For when the Fathers themselves wrote, they made use of a Language that was understood by all the World; and we live at present in an Age, wherein great Numbers of their Books have been translated with Applause. No Man therefore ought to take it ill, that I publish an Abridgment of their Doctrine to all the World: On the contrary, It were to be wished, that every Christian could be instructed in these Matters, that they might be the better confirmed in their Belief, when they see that this Doctrine has been always taught in the Church of JESUS CHRIST, who is the Pillar and Ground of the Truth.